Mobile Mural Lab

March 25, 2013

We had the Mobile Mural Lab (http://mobilemurallab.com/). We did some really cool things with them while they were on campus, click through to see more!

A number of weeks ago, a large white van rolled onto the Occidental College campus, carrying with it gallons of paint, social justice initiatives, a mini-mural museum, and two dedicated and experienced artists. David Russell and Roberto Del Hoyo created the Mobile Mural Lab by combining their educations in studio art, their experience in elementary education pedagogies, and social engagement to produce mobile opportunities of expression for youth. The Mobile Mural lab defies the restrictive public art laws in Los Angeles by allowing youth to express themselves publicly on a surface that the entire community can enjoy. Starting as a white, previously-ran emergency vehicle, the van rolls into an environment with a predesigned outline for students to fulfill and blank spaces for complete artistic freedom. In honor of the Office of Community Engagement, our mobile mural featured our office emblem and symbols representing a community’s collective approach to social engagement. Current students, visiting students, and faculty alike joined together to fill in the blank spaces and show Oxy’s pride through our colors of orange and black. Following the painting of the mural, students were encouraged to attend a presentation by Russell and Roberto Del Hoyo, which highlighted many of the murals that are iconic to LA and murals that have been lost in the development and deterioration of the city. This presentation went into a detailed and personal journey of public art in La, what it meant in passing years, what it means today, and what it can mean in the future. In order to maintain the power of the Mobile Mural Lab, I will not give away any of its secrets and revelations regarding the world of public art. Rather, the Mobile Mural Lab can be found on the highways of LA, in elementary schools, and community centers, and participation in a Mobile Mural Lab event will introduce your soul to the power of art on an individual, public, social, political, and worldly basis.